"CAMILLE WARD PHD IN BIOPSYCHOLOGY STATES, "LANCE IS A WONDERFUL STUDENT"

Jack chewed through the drywall in our homes in Las Vegas and Tiburon. It wasn’t soon enough that he escaped through our window. I received a call from a woman in Strawberry that spotted him swimming across Richardson Bay. Miraculously, she caught him before animal control. The officer offered a resource list of local dog professionals. It was obvious that Jack was not going to outgrow these problems. I thought we would benefit from an ethical, force free intervention. We tried everything from shock collars, vibration collars, beep collars, citronella collars and prong-collars. Aversive tools broke Jacks trust and his ability to work with me. I was ridden with guilt in sending him away to a board and train that operated behind closed doors and lacked my involvement. That was a fatal mistake on my part. Lance was my last hope, and his dog savvy suggestions were spot on. He first advised us to have Jack evaluated by Dr. Sung to make sure he didn’t ingest any of the material in the drywall. Our veterinarian concluded there was no nutritional deficiencies and medical issues. Lance requested a vet release, video footages to figure out the reason why Jack was behaving this way, by identifying the function behind the behaviors. Lance set up a behavioral assessment questionnaire that measured 14 behavioral traits and problem behaviors, including the subscales of aggression and escape. This comprehensive evaluation included stranger, owner, dog directed aggression, escape, separation, attachment, chasing, excitability and touch sensitivity. Lance asked questions, listened carefully and responded thoughtfully. He opened my eyes to concepts in a way that resonated with me. His tailored treatment plan fit my dog’s specific needs. I was literally at my wits-end and could no longer handle Jack snapping at dogs and snapping back at me. I was so embarrassed of my dog’s behavior in public. He had an abnormally elevated intensity that I have never seen in dogs.  Lance described what aggression is and what aggression is not. He elaborated on what fearful escaped behaviors are and what they’re not. He taught me how to walk Jack with coherence and not control. He worked with us on co-regulation and strategies that anticipated situations that triggered his aggression. Lance worked with us on a variety of calming activities that helped prevent his flight, fight and freeze responses. He worked with Jack on mat relaxation, and he demonstrated how to reinforce it, until predictable. Lance trained us on how to inhale and exhale together to create emotional flow. Achieving a flow state through breath work helped us stay committed to the present moment—without getting caught up in the frustrations of trying to micromanage him. I learned that training should never fight his natural instincts, it should be mindfully partnered with it. Lance exposed Jack to stimuli in small, controlled increments with attentive focus and deep connections. He slowly worked up the anxiety hierarchy to condition relaxed responses. Lances helped me understand that when a fearful dog is sensitized, it often has a paralyzing effect, and the desensitization process takes extra longer. “Lance added his trainer dog in our session. Jack first learned not to react to the least increasing triggers before the most increasing triggers. He was jack-potted for remaining composed in our engage and disengage game. This was the first time I witnessed Jack display signs of calm body language and happy emotional states in the present of another dog in close proximity. This was the most powerful shift without force.  With Lance’s knowledgeable insights, I learned to recognize and squash cognitive distortions that were driving my stress downward. This brought me peace of mind, and cooperation to my relationship with Jack.  Jack learned to consistently defer to me and remain calm and engaged on walks. Lance helped us build life skills for greater awareness and coping skills to navigate stressful situations. He arranged the environments in such a way to promote a particular outcome of joy-based behaviors and deeper understanding. We purchased a huge pen that Lance recommended. We provided Jack with the proper chew items, licki mats, food puzzles, and kongs to satisfy and fulfill his needs in our absence. We added additional alternatives, such as classical music and a speeds high velocity tilting pedestal fan to block window of my neighbors' dog. It’s true, dogs trained with reward-based methods have lower rates of behavior problems compared with dogs trained with aversive methods. Lance's training is evidenced based and backed by scientific research. He is highly skilled in solving a serious case of redirected aggression. Highly recommended!

Justin D 

Tiburon, Las Vegas

  Financial Advisor